#1-7: January 6, 2005
#195: Sunday, on I-275 in Pinellas was shut down to clear a bad accident. There was one fatality.
#196: Monday night, I-4 was shut down. A pickup crossed the median and hit an oncoming car head on. There was one fatality.
#197: This morning a semi crossed the median on I-4 and hit an oncoming car head on. There was one fatality.
Written on April 20, 2005, but never posted:
Kathleen Heitner was driving her family east on I-4 Tuesday, April 19, 2005 when the SUV swerved, spun, rolled, and got crushed in the median, killing her and injuring seven other family members. The family was on vacation from Spokane, WA and on their way to the hotel in Orlando.
So why am I writing about this here? Heitner was the 70th person to die on Hillsborough County roads this year. Yep. 70 dead in 109 days. Nine people die every two weeks on our roads. At this rate, there will be 100 before Flag Day. And another 100 by Election Day. And 34 more by New Year’s Eve. That is just in Hillsborough County.
According to Trooper Larry Coggins of the Florida Highway Patrol, as of this morning, Tuesday, June 28, 2005, there have been 112 traffic deaths in Hillsborough County. There were 103 by Flag Day. We’re still averaging almost nine deaths every two weeks in Hillsborough.
Combined with Pasco (39) and Pinellas (46), that makes 197 deaths on our roads since January 1. Every ten days, eleven people die from traffic accidents in the tri-county area. Saturday at noon marks the middle of the year. I hope we don’t count two hundred by then.
Just thought you’d like to know.
Adam Tebrugge
4 years ago
If we had any sense, we would see that this post is scarier and should get more attention than the occasional shark bite. The most dangerous thing that any of us does is to drive.
thegax
4 years ago
Maybe our local politicians can get on this bandwagon and focus on peoples’ lives (and deaths). I guess it won’t happen though. I mean, you can get much more political traction by talking about gays than about actually doing something important.
What we need, and we need it now more than ever, is a penta-county (Hills., Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee) mass transit system.
But since that will cost money and take time, local politicans want nothing to do with it.
r*
4 years ago
Hi Tommy, Just a quick pat on the back for the way you’re always thinking about others. Between the posts noting other bloggger’s accomplishments and your consistent concern for road safety, it’s just real nice to have you in our neck of the blogosphere!
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